Sketch on Glass

For my money, the best dubstep EP release of the year. As someone pointed out, it is kind of Four Tet does dubstep, but this sounds completely different to 'Wolf Cub' or 'Moth'. It reminds me more of the Sheffield dreamscape electronica of I Monster.

Love(Dub)

DJ AM

I knew nothing about DJ AM prior to his passing, and by that I mean nothing, nichts, rien du tout, niente, nada. Less interested in his myriad celebrity connections (Nicole Ritchie, Scott Caan, Alchemist), I just wanted to know what sort of music he played. According to the NY Times,

"his style on the turntables is what they call “mash up.” He has become as known for excavating obscure songs as he is for seamlessly blending tracks with unlikely partners. Jay-Z’s “Dirt Off Your Shoulder” with the Killers’ “Mr. Brightside.” “Leader of the Pack” by the Shangri-Las spliced with the rapper Lil Jon’s signature call, “O-kaaay.”

“He’s your favorite D.J.’s favorite D.J.,” said Jus Ske, a party promoter turned D.J. who used to hire DJ AM to play at events in Manhattan. “He’s the man technically, when it comes to scratching, and he’s really raised the bar creatively.”"

Is that just a cracked out Diplo then? I don't know - even Diplo wouldn't drop The Killers.

Los Mas Tocables

As far as this salsero original business goes, Maayan Nidam did it better for my money. I think 'Nightlong' is one of the most important releases of 2009.



I think this is a lot better. I know it's the summer and all, but how many of these Latino stompers are there left to come? Already this year we've had 'Caminando', 'El Baile Aleman', 'La Mezcla', 'Baile', and now these two. Luciano and Ricardo have a lot to answer for if you ask me.

Hyph Mngo pt. 2

I have already written about this tune here. I still stand by my previous comments. It's booooooring. It goes nowhere, has a stodgy beat, and does little to make me want to dance, nod along, or anything else in fact. I agree with Reynolds entirely, except for his view that it is “undeveloped [and] not fully realised”. It is, and that's the real headfuck about it. In its present state, it couldn't be any better - the raw ingredients are more Lidl than Waitrose - and that's why it makes me sad to see FACT gushing all over it. People may love it at the raves they throw, but seriously who is going to those raves? Trendy bandwagon-jumpers perhaps? I'm no huge fan of funky, but if this is as good as it gets then we're beyond fucked.

In slightly more pleasant news, House of House are set to appear on Tim Sweeney's excellent Beats In Space show tonight. Essential listening. Stream here from 10.30pm - to 1.00am EST.

Do You Feel Me?

The latest drop from Patrice's Facebook page. Keep em' coming Patrice! Interview to follow shortly...

Wax Treatment

Throwing a party in Berlin on the Sunday night of Bar 25's umpteenth "closing" was always going to be a tough proposition. But DJ Pete and Scuba's monthly Hard Wax night at Horst has proven to be one for the heads—less all night raving, more round at a friend's house listening to his favourite (dubstep) tunes...through the largest sound system east of the Notting Hill Carnival. For the latest instalment of Wax Treatment, Berlin ex-pat Scuba assembled a motley crew of Hotflush co-conspirators to shake the foundations of Horst.

While the Hard Wax boys and girls are most readily associated with pushing the punishing Berghain sound of Dettman or the Panorama-friendly house of Prosumer, they also lead the field in championing dubstep in Germany, and they do so in a manner befitting such a hallowed institution. As we entered Horst, the first thing that stood out was the Killasan sound system, a monolithic fuck you of a setup that straddled the entire back wall of the club. DJ Pete was doing a magnificent job of pushing the system to its extremes with a bass-heavy set complemented by Koki's hauntingly reverb-ridden MCing. As the crowd slowly began to filter in, snaking their way through the reefer fug and swaying zombies, Jamie Vex'd took over behind the decks.

By this stage the sizeable number of Brits in the crowd were beginning to mingle well with the German dubophiles, and Vex'd decided to indulge the assembled hordes, mixing established favourites such as an "Archangel" re-rub with his own "Angels," a Planet Mu slayer that had everyone zigzagging across the dance floor with each syncopated breakdown. Nonetheless, there was also room for more avant-garde fare with cuts like "Mescaline Cola" also thrown into the mix. Vex'd eventually handed things over to Stamp Release who unfortunately succeeded only in emptying the dance floor with his slow-train-to-nowhere laptop musings. Luckily Scuba stepped up and salvaged the night, playing a stormer of a set that positioned itself in the liminal zone between dubstep and techno.

What with it being Sunday night and all, we didn't get a chance to see Sigha do his thing. A brief sojourn in the garden to sample some of the Caribbean food on offer, followed by a final slug of Tyskie, was it for us. Wax Treatment isn't one to take a first date to, but if you are looking to briefly lose your shit on a Sunday night before the grind of Monday wears you down, this one is definitely worth a visit.